Former Sen. David Perdue could soon be packing his jean jacket for China, since Donald Trump nominated the former senator and CEO to be his ambassador in Beijing late last week.
It’s an incredible turn of events for Perdue, who lost two elections in two years, falling to Democrat Jon Ossoff in a heated 2021 runoff and then finishing more than 50 points behind Gov. Brian Kemp in an ill-fated 2022 primary challenge to Kemp that had been encouraged by Trump.
Perdue returned home to the Georgia coast and largely disappeared from the political scene with the exception of an occasional GOP event. But with his nomination from Trump coming at a pivotal point for U.S.-China relations, it’s likely that Perdue’s next role in government will also be the most important job he’s ever had. But, of course, he has to get the job first.
The Macon-born Perdue starts out ahead of the game by Trump’s “central casting standard,” since he already looks like he could play the part of a distinguished envoy in an episode of “The Diplomat.” But he’s also likely be one of Trump’s most qualified nominees when it’s his turn to be considered by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a confirmation hearing early next year.
Richard Fontaine, a foreign policy expert and the CEO of the Center for a New American Security, said Perdue generally meets the criteria of a solid ambassador pick.
“One question is, does he have experience on the issues he’s likely to encounter in the job? Also, does he have direct access to the President? And then the bonus is, if he has experience living in the region where he’s going to be operating,” Fontaine said. “Frankly, if you compare Perdue with some of the other people whose names have been floated for other ambassadorships, the contrast is fairly vivid.”
To that point, Perdue has extensive experience working in Asia. In addition to postings in Singapore and Hong Kong early in his business career, Perdue served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee when both panels were increasingly focused on the threat that China could pose to American national interests.
Probably most important of all, Perdue has a relationship with Trump that predates Trump’s time in politics. In 2014, when Trump was best known as a reality television star and real estate mogul, he invited Perdue to meet at Trump Tower after his Senate victory in Georgia. Perdue went on to become one of Trump’s earliest allies in the Senate and has been an unfailingly loyal booster since then, including after Trump’s 2020 election loss.
He’s never given the president-elect a reason not to trust him and that trust will be essential as Trump assumes the White House for a second time promising tariffs and a trade war with China. Perdue will sit in a place to inform those crucial decisions.
Perdue’s job of ambassador, according to people who have been there, will include issues related to trade, the economy, defense, intelligence, agriculture, manufacturing, and nearly anything else where the two countries agree or disagree. Along with representing American interests in China, Perdue will be responsible for relaying “ground-truth” back to Washington as an intermediary for local powerbrokers.
Gordon Giffin, who served as then-President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to Canada, said Perdue’s success in the job will depend on Trump himself.
“There’s no doubt that China is a hugely important relationship and how that relationship is managed is of enormous significance to the United States,” said Giffin. “The extent to which Ambassador Perdue has an important position will be controlled by the extent to which the President accords to the ambassador the necessary authority and role to be the President’s, if not top adviser, then one of the top two or three advisers on China. And that’s up to the way the President assigns responsibility to the ambassador.”
A key question for senators questioning Perdue in his hearings will be his own opinions about China’s government. After a business career that included expanding operations in Asia, including China, Perdue is now been described as “a China hawk,” in national news reports.
A September op-ed in the Washington Examiner showed that he has been thinking about policy in China, even with no formal policy role, and that he’s deeply concerned about the growing power.
“Through all my activity in China and the region, one thing became painfully clear: The Chinese Communist Party firmly believes its rightful destiny is to reclaim its historical position as the hegemon of the world order — and convert the world to Marxism,” he wrote.
One of the people voting on his Senate confirmation will of course be Ossoff, whom Perdue once accused during the 2020 campaign of doing business “with a company owned by the Communist Chinese Government and then tried to hide it from Georgia voters.” (It was a Hong Kong-based television company).
If Perdue is confirmed, he will follow behind several Georgians who have also served as ambassadors. Along with Giffin, former Sen. Wyche Fowler was then-President Clinton’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, James Laney was ambassador to Korea, while former state Sen. David Adelman served at top envoy in Singapore . Before that, Anne Cox Chambers was then-President Jimmy Carter’s pick as his envoy to Belgium, while Philip Alston was Carter’s ambassador to Australia.
“Obviously, my politics aren’t the same as David Perdue, but the Republicans won the election,” Giffin said of Perdue. “Donald Trump won the election, so they get to pick and under those circumstances, I think it’s a good choice.”
About the Author
